Katherine Ryan has revealed she was taught to fear men from a young age after her friend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

The 41-year-old comedian was just 19 when she was working as a waitress in her hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, with her friend Jessica Nethery.

Katherine said she was left traumatized when Jessica failed to show up for work one day and later learned her boyfriend – with whom she had recently broken up – had killed her.

Talking to Mirrorshe said: “I found out he had died when he never showed up for work that day. It was traumatic for everyone in town – because it’s a small place, everyone knows everyone.

“It really affected me and informed, I think, a lot about my behaviors. I proceeded very vigilantly (after).’

Katherine Ryan has revealed she was taught to fear men from a young age after her friend was murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

Katherine told how she was left traumatized when her friend Jessica Nethery was killed by her ex-boyfriend.

She added: “I told my mum and I remember my mum being very calm and saying, ‘Sometimes if you let them, they’ll kill you.’ And I said, “What?”

Katherine said that because this happened when she was so young and her “brain was still growing”, it had a huge impact on her.

Jessica Nethery was 21 when she was killed by her ex-partner Jeremy Molitor, then 24. He attacked her in a parking lot and stabbed her 58 times.

He received a life sentence for the attack, but was paroled in 2019.

It comes after Katherine shared the cutting message she sent to former male colleagues who got in touch after revealing there was a “dangerous male comic” on the circuit.

The comedian claimed last year that there was a “dangerous comedian” working in British show business.

During her speech at the Glamor Awards, Katherine revealed that loads of men she’d previously worked with got in touch after her admission – all looking for “proof messages” that she wasn’t talking about them.

“So I had to copy and paste a hundred times ‘You really think you should be texting me after everything that happened between us,'” Katherine said as she revealed how she responded to huge laughs from the female crowd.

Katherine said last year that she “wrestled” with the decision whether to work with “someone who I believe is a sexual abuser” or turn down jobs.

Referencing the male comic in her speech, Katherine began: “After some soul-searching, I thought, ‘Why should I stay at home? He’s there in his unnecessarily tight jeans, he’ll be there wearing a hat in the house, or he’s taken it off. a Tibetan monk for visions, or whatever he did.”

The comedian claimed last year that there was a “dangerous comedian” working in British show business

Katherine attended the Glamor Women of the Year Awards with her husband Bobby Kootstra

“So I took the gig, but every time I had to talk to him I’d say things like, ‘I’m not paid enough to be here, especially with how many times my face is going to be on the news when your victims show up. “and fun jokes like that.

“It was so long ago that we still use the word victim, by the way, we say survivor now, which would have been a very different Destiny’s Child song, less empowering.”

Katherine went on to say that everyone in the industry already knew this man was a predator, but the survivors didn’t feel comfortable talking.

“I wasn’t trying to write it off because everyone knew,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell a journalist Katherine,” everyone knew. “Why didn’t you tell the police,” everyone already knew. Everyone knew, but couldn’t prove it.

“What the journalist wanted from me was never his name, but the women’s names. The women who told me their stories and I believe in a woman’s right to physical autonomy, just as I believe in the right to autonomy of her voice, and if they didn’t want to come forward, that’s up to them. So I couldn’t say anything.

Continuing to talk about the other men, she continued: “But because I wouldn’t name my colleague, something funny started happening, I started getting texts from men I’ve worked with over the years, like be actors, comedians, musicians, just like “Hey Katherine, how’s it going.”

“I didn’t know what they wanted, so I showed these messages to my husband and he said, ‘Oh, they just want a poof message, they want you to send them something nice back so they can show their agent and they can show. wife that you certainly weren’t talking about them.”

“So I had to copy and paste ‘You really think you should be texting me after everything that happened between us’ a hundred times.”

The Canadian-born comedian told host Lauren Laverne on an episode of Desert Island Discs last year that while she believed the man “is or was dangerous”, she was willing to appear on a show with him. The episode came as Russell Brand was at the center of allegations of rape and sexual assault, which he denied but had previously been on the record.

Katherine revealed that her “compromise” was to go into the show with the unnamed comic but “let him know without any strings attached what I think of him.”

She added that she hadn’t seen “a big reaction” from the comedian in question, but that other comics who were aware of the person’s reputation “really liked what I said.”

Katherine has been open about the issue and allegedly challenged Russell while they co-hosted the TV comedy show Roast Battle in 2018, making comments about him on camera that were later cut from the broadcast.

Katherine said last year that she “wrestled” with the decision whether to work with “someone who I believe is a sexual abuser” or turn down jobs.

Katherine is said to have previously clashed with Russell Brand while co-hosting TV comedy show Roast Battle in 2018. Pictured: Katherine (centre) with Brand (left) and Jimmy Carr (right) on the show.

Roast Battle consisted of comedians making jokes at each other’s expense. The first season featured Russell, Katherine and Jimmy Carr. Jonathan Ross replaced Russell for the second season.

During the filming of the show – created by Fulwell 73 – Katherine allegedly made accusations at Russell. Her comments did not make the show, according to Deadline.

Katherine’s confrontations reportedly revealed how comedians in the industry were openly talking about Russell’s sexual and predatory behavior.

Russell was reportedly “absolutely furious” after being targeted by Katherine on the show, a source told the paper.

Two other sources claimed that he asked the producers to protect him from being grilled about these serious allegations.

Industry insiders have now revealed that they thought it was best for Russell to step down as a judge on the show and that “in the end it came down to Russell not having a good sense of humour”.